Share “Dick Dale still rules as ‘King of the Surf...”

Dick Dale still rules as ‘King of the Surf Guitar'

Surf guitar innovator Dick Dale, known for hits such as “Let's Go Trippin',” “Jungle Fever” and “Misirlou,” performs Friday at the Farmers Market in Oklahoma City.

BY GENE TRIPLETT etriplett@opubco.com •
Published: June 24, 2011

Advertisement

When Dick Dale wasn't angling the waves at California's Huntington Beach or Doheny, you could find him on the Rendezvous Ballroom stage in Balboa, playing guitar his way — upside down and backward.

Dick Dale performs Friday at Farmers Public Market. Photo provided

Since left-handed guitars were hard to come by, the southpaw played a right-handed model in reverse, but unlike other lefty pickers, he didn't bother restringing his instrument. So he invented chords of his own, and a unique sound to match the music he heard in his head when he was riding those Pacific swells.

“I have all the rhythm in my left hand, and I use the rhythms that Gene Krupa did on his drums,” Dale explained in a recent phone interview from the road.

“Gene Krupa was my big hero, and I used to play on my mother's flour cans and sugar cans with the kitchen knives, listening to the big bands on my dad's records. Gene Krupa and Harry James. That's why I love to play the trumpet. I learned everything by ear and played all the different instruments. So then I was able to find a guitar. That was like in the seventh grade. And then I didn't know how to put my fingers on all the different strings, so I had to figure out how to do it upside down and backwards, and I still play that way today.”

Surfing music born

Adapting Krupa rhythms to the electric guitar resulted in Dale's trademark staccato picking, which he enhanced through electronic reverberation, creating a sound that his fellow surfers adopted as their own. Surfing music was born, and Dale was soon dubbed the “King of the Surf Guitar.”

One of his instrumental compositions, “Let's Go Trippin',” became his first single release and a local hit on his own Deltone label. Considered by many to be the first surf rock song, it was followed by “Jungle Fever” and “Surf Beat.”